Tag: Cade Otton

Cade Otton joins rare company in Bucs franchise history after Week 12

Cade Otton would emerge from the shadows of this offense and now joins rare company after Week 12.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense has had to give itself some new looks over the course of the 2024 season. When they lost Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, we weren’t sure what the offense would look like, but they figured it out.

Cade Otton would emerge from the shadows of this offense and now joins rare company after Week 12.

With his lone catch against the Giants, Otton became just the fifth Tampa Bay Buccaneer to catch 50 passes or more in a season for the team. He is the first tight end to do it since Rob Gronkowski did it for them in 2021 when he caught 55 passes.

Otton is on pace for 77 catches, which would tie the team record by a tight end in a season. Kellen Winslow Jr. caught 77 for the team in 2009.

Otton has seemingly set himself up to be part of the offense for the long haul. Regardless of Evans’s return, the offense and Liam Coen will find a way to work him in.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs lopsided 30-7 win over the Giants

The Bucs came to East Rutherford, New Jersey, desperate for a win, as they had lost their previous four games before last week’s bye.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to East Rutherford, New Jersey, desperate for a win, as they had lost their previous four games before last week’s bye.

Not only did the Todd Bowles team come out of the bye week looking refreshed, they made a statement on all sides of the ball, improving to 5-6 on the year and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Here are five key takeaways from today’s 30-7 win over the Giants.

Bucky Irving is RB1

The Buccaneers are known around the league as a team that struggles to run the football. Part of the issue is the running back by committee approach that Liam Coen runs. It’s impossible for any of the Bucs RBs to become “the hot hand” and get something going on the ground when they are constantly being rotated out (this is also covered later on the defensive side). Bucky Irving has been the clear-cut RB1 for the Buccaneers for the last handful of games, and it seems like the only ones that cannot see that are on the Bucs sideline. Totaling only 12 of the team’s 28 designed carries, Irving led the backfield with 87 yards- an average of 7.3 yards per carry. Irving tied Mike Evans with six receptions for the team lead, not only effective on the ground, netting 64 receiving yards. It was understood how dangerous Rachaad White was catching passes out the back. However, Irving has proven to be just as, if not better, at being a pass-catching back than White.

Keep your best players on the field

Throughout the season, namely the four-game losing streak, Bowles was rarely keeping his best defensive line players on the field at the same time. All too often, Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey, and Yaya Diaby were around the mid-60 % of defensive snaps played, which is unacceptable for your star players, who are healthy, to see snap counts that low. This game proved to be different, and while the official snap counts are not out, it was a noticeable effort to keep their best players on the field, and it made a distinct difference, registering four sacks of Tommy DeVito.

Mike Evans opens up the offense

Needless to say, one of the best Buccaneers players in the history of the franchise is a good player. However, it was extremely apparent as Mayfield was able to effectively spread the ball around. Mayfield connected with 11 different players, completing 24 of 30 for 294 yards on the day. The Giants have the best-passing defense that they have faced in the last five games in terms of yards allowed, which begs the question, was it a mistake not to try and trade for another well-established wide receiver when Evans went down?

Playing with urgency

The Buccaneers never let up off the gas throughout the game, no matter what the score was, which is proving to be the recipe for success. Against the Falcons in their Week 5 OT loss, it was a winnable game had the playcalling been more urgent rather than designed screen passes. The controversy of not going for two and not attempting to win against the Kansas City Chiefs in regulation. Not having anyone to catch passes that were not a running back or Cade Otton over that four-game stretch showed that this team has the talent to play with and beat the best that the NFL has to offer. However, they just seem to go on cruise control at the wrong time. Today was not the case and should be the blueprint for the Bucs for the remainder of the season, as they are on the bubble of making the playoffs.

Outcoaching bad coaches

Bowles is not a bad coach. He may be too conservative and make calls that those of us who are not on the sidelines question, but he is not a bad coach. Brian Daboll is not a good coach, and Bowles stepped up and outcoached the Giants. Mistakes are going to happen, as no team, player, or coach is perfect, but continuing to play with urgency and Bowles stepping up and outcoaching the remaining six coaches that the team plays against to close out the regular season is something that needs to happen.

Bucs TE Cade Otton listed as Pro Bowl sleeper after recent breakout

Cade Otton’s recent breakout in the absence of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin has allowed him to be considered for the event. 

The Pro Bowl is not held in much high regard by the media, but it still means something for players to be credited with having good seasons. It also allows them to get together during Pro Bowl week, and new bonds can be made that could benefit teams down the road.

Cade Otton’s recent breakout in the absence of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin has allowed him to be considered for the event.

NFL Media discussed some potential sleepers for the Pro Bowl and the Bucs tight end made the cut. Kevin Patra writes “In three of the past four weeks, Otton generated at least 75 yards — a number he’d never previously hit in a regular-season game. Since Week 7, his 20.8 receiving EPA is tops among tight ends, his 39 targets are second-most among TEs. . .The Bucs have a tough road ahead to get back into the postseason, but if they can, Otton will be a key reason for the late-season surge.”

Regardless of the outcome of the Bucs’ season, Cade Otton’s emergence bodes well for their long-term plans. Having one less position to worry about in the draft and offseason allows more money and time to be invested in other areas.

Cade Otton’s play has allowed the Bucs to feel good about the entire tight end position; a Pro Bowl would put a bow on that conversation.

Bucs HC praises the growth of TE Cade Otton in recent weeks

The Bucs were left in limbo with the injuries to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, but someone has emerged.

The Bucs were left in limbo after Chris Godwin and Mike Evans’ injuries, but someone has emerged. In recent weeks, tight end Cade Otton has become Baker Mayfield’s favorite target, helping the Bucs’ offense remain explosive.

On Wednesday, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles talked about Otton’s growth in the Bucs offense.

“It’s really been his route-running. Not that he couldn’t do it – I don’t think we asked him to do it because we had the other guys out there doing it. So, just asking him to step up more in a receiver role, you really see his route-running prowess and his precision.”

Since losing Evans and Godwin three weeks ago, Cade Otton has 25 catches for 258 yards and three touchdowns. In the six games prior, Otton had just 19 catches for 116 yards and one touchdown. It will be interesting to see how he continues with Evans slated to return later in the season.
At the very least, Otton may have removed the tight end position from the team’s draft board.

Bucs TE Cade Otton emerging from the shadows in recent weeks

The Buccaneers panicked when they lost Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for significant portions of the season.

The Buccaneers panicked when they lost Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for significant portions of the season. The question immediately surrounded who would step up, and the answer has come out of the woodwork in recent weeks.

Tight end Cade Otton has finally started to emerge as a reliable option in the passing game, and PFF has pointed out how well he has played in recent weeks.

According to PFF, in the last two weeks among tight ends, he ranks first in receptions (17), second in receiving yards (181), tied for third in first downs (9), and tied for first in missed tackles forced (4).

If he can keep this up, he will help Baker Mayfield succeed and help Rakim Jarrett and Trey Palmer as they work on the outside. The receivers aren’t going to break the door down and excite someone, but Otton is well on his way to emerging as a solidified option in this offense.

5 key takeaways from the Bucs pivotal win over the Saints in Week 6

An ever-important bounce-back game was on the docket for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New Orleans Saints on the road.

An ever-important bounce-back game was on the docket for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New Orleans Saints following their Week 5 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Not only would the Bucs fall to .500 with a loss, but they would have been 0-2 in the NFC South, a place you do not want to be.

With a commanding 51-27 win over their division rivals, this was more of a giant leap forward for the Bucs team, who improved to 4-2 on the season. Here are 5 key takeaways from Sunday’s pivotal win over the Saints.

The offense once again showed glimpses of explosiveness

For the fourth time in six games, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have put up more than 30 points, three of those being in winning efforts. Despite three interceptions from Mayfield, two of which should have been catches, Liam Coen never let off the gas in his playcalling. Three fourth-quarter touchdowns were a much different -and welcomed- feeling for Bucs fans as the offense was able to truly shut the door on the Saints in their blowout win.

The Buccaneers have the luxury of two superstar wide receivers and a revolving door of capable running backs. A balanced offensive attack proved the recipe for success against the Saints, as there was a 36-to-35 passing attempt to 35-to-35 rushing attempt split.

Rachaad White might be the odd man out

There will likely continue to be a theme when it comes to figuring out the running back room, and the theme will be uncertainty. A couple of times this season, it appeared that Rachaad White and Bucky Irving could be in the discussion for one of the top duos in the league until they weren’t. That conversation spun off into Irving potentially taking over RB1 duties from White. With White being inactive for Sunday’s matchup against the Saints, insert Sean Tucker into the conversation. Tucker carried the ball 14 times for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Irving also logged 14 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown.

A saving grace for White has been his ability to catch passes and create out of the backfield. However, Tucker finished the day as the team’s second-leading receiver, with 56 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.

The coaching staff will need to figure this out, and with arguably the toughest four-game stretch in the league looming, it might be time to roll the dice and stick with what worked so well against the Saints.

Defense still needs to tighten up

Don’t let the score fool you. Typically a 30+ point effort puts your team into prevent defense and clock-eating mode, that just simply hasn’t been the case for this team more often than not this season. Once up 17-0 early over the Saints, quickly turned into a 3-point 20-17 deficit. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was sacked five times and threw two interceptions on the day, but he never truly looked uncomfortable in the backfield in his first career start.

Only one time throughout their six games have the Buccaneers given up less than 250 yards, and that was to an A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith-less Eagles offense that generated 227 yards of offense. Leaving your offense to win in a shootout is going to be a difficult task, especially with the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco 49ers coming up. Yes, a crucial game against the Atlanta Falcons should be on the radar as the defense allowed Kirk Cousins to have a career day in Week 5.

Cade Otton isn’t the tight end the Bucs need

As legendary pro wrestling commentator Jim Ross would say, “he’s a good hand.” What that means is that he can be dependable, but there is nothing that truly stands out. It’s not a knock on Otton, but he is incapable of the athletic playmaking that the Buccaneers offense needs. GM Jason Licht is not one to make in-season trades, however, a dynamic playmaking tight end could prove to push this offense into the upper echelon of the consistently elite offenses in the NFL- emphasis on consistently.

Tykee Smith is developing into a solid starter

It’s too early in his career to talk about a budding superstar. After yesterday’s performance, it’s understandable why emotions are high, but let’s bring it back down to earth and talk about what Tykee Smith truly is, and that is a very solid developing star in this Buccaneers defense. Allowing just a 3.5 passer rating -yes, you read that right, 3.5- to Rattler while seeing six targets (second most behind Zyon McCollum’s 7) cannot be ignored. As Jamel Dean has struggled in the first quarter of the 2024 season, and the continued need for Todd Bowles to tighten up the defense, Smith should continue to see more snaps- especially with the return of Antoine Winfield Jr. looming over the top.

 

Bucs TE Payne Durham leaves practice with knee injury

Bucs tight end Payne Durham left practice Wednesday with a knee injury

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Payne Durham left joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars with an apparent knee injury, per multiple reports.

The Bucs are running tests on the injury, and there’s still no update on the severity (via team senior writer Scott Smith).

Durham is entering his second year with the Bucs and is looking to expand his role on offense. Last year, he saw limited action, catching just five passes on seven targets for 58 yards.

Cade Otton is expected to return as Tampa Bay’s starting tight end, and the Bucs are also bringing back 2022 sixth-round pick Ko Kieft, who is primarily used as a blocker. An extended absence by Durham would open an opportunity for 2024 seventh-round pick Devin Culp to make a case for the final roster.

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Bucs TE Cade Otton talks pizza, parenthood and more

Check out this behind-the-scenes feature on Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton

Heading into his third NFL season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton is on the verge of a breakout campaign after showing flashes of potential over the past two years.

The former fourth-round pick remains the Bucs’ top tight end on the depth chart, and continues to develop chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Off the field, Otton has already had a memorable 2024, as he and his wife, Sierra Snyder, welcomed their first child into the world earlier this offseason.

One of many former Washington Huskies on the Bucs’ current squad, Otton recently sat down with team reporter Casey Phillips to talk parenthood, pizza, and a wide range of other topics as he prepares for the upcoming season:

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Bucs 2024 training camp preview: Tight end

What does the Bucs’ tight end group look like heading into training camp?

The tight end position in Tampa Bay has been a bit of an afterthought since the retirement of Rob Gronkowski in 2022, devoting few resources to the position over the last few years. This year’s training camp will be the first in several years where the group will be comprised mostly of experienced players and will rely on growth and consistency rather than new talent.

This will be Cade Otton’s third year with the Bucs and once again he will be the workhorse of the tight end group. Last year he dominated the snap shares in the group, playing 1063 snaps against 383 from the rest of the Bucs’ tight ends.

Though his receiving stats are not gaudy and he is just an adequate blocker, Tampa Bay’s coaching staff trusts Otton to play a part in every aspect of the offense. Despite having just two seasons under his belt, Otton will be a veteran presence at camp.

Fellow 2022 draft pick Ko Kieft has not been a featured player since joining the Bucs roster, operating mostly as a run blocker when he does see the field. Of all the returning tight ends, his future is most in doubt, though not from team design.

Kieft was the only player that head coach Todd Bowles indicated may not be healthy at the start of training camp. Kieft’s experience will buy him some goodwill from the Bucs’ staff, but his limited utility could make him expendable if his health issues linger.

The returning tight end with some unrealized upside is Payne Durham. The Bucs’ 2023 fifth-round pick has more prototypical size for a tight end than anyone else on the roster, which made him a big target for Baker Mayfield at times last season.

However, Durham struggled with drops, a major concern given his limited opportunities. If he is going to loosen Otton’s grip on the tight end reps in Tampa Bay, Durham has earn the confidence of Mayfield and the Bucs coaching staff with sure hands.

The Bucs did add one tight end this offseason, taking Washington TE Devin Culp with their last pick in the draft. Culp is built in the mold of modern tight ends. He is smaller at 6’3″ and 231 pounds but supremely athletic for his size, recording the top 40 time among tight ends at this year’s NFL Combine.

Buried on Washington’s depth chart behind a cavalcade of now-NFL receivers like teammate Jalen McMillan, Culp had few opportunities to express his talent as a receiver before now. Culp will be among a handful of young players vying to establish himself as a dynamic and reliable target in the Bucs offense.

Like most rookies, Culp’s path to the final roster will be special teams, which he did play at Washington. While he is unlikely to crack the Bucs’ tight end rotation this year, Culp could make the investment worthwhile if he can make it through camp and earn a roster spot by the end of camp.

At the tail of the tight end depth chart are David Wells and Tanner Taula. Wells was a surprising standout at last year’s training camp, so much so that he managed to spend some time on the main roster during the season. However he is entering his seventh NFL season and comes with no real upside.

Taula also had a good camp last year, earning him a place on the practice squad. Unless he makes a major leap forward as a receiver, he is likely to be in a similar position by the end of camp this year.

Bucs TE Cade Otton, wife Sierra welcome new baby daughter

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers family grew by one this weekend, as tight end Cade Otton and his wife Sierra welcomed a new baby into the world

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers family grew by one this week, as tight end Cade Otton and his wife, Sierra, welcomed a baby girl into the world.

A photo of the happy family was shared on the Bucs’ official Twitter account Monday.

It’s been an offseason of growing families for the Bucs offense, as Otton joins both quarterback Baker Mayfield and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, who have also become new dads over the past few months.

Congrats to Otton family on their new addition.

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